Reclaiming operations in the cigarette industry embrace two principal recovery efforts, one involving operations on individual cigarettes rejected from cigarette makers and the other involving operations on rejected containers of individual cigarettes. The recovery effort involving individual cigarettes is by far the simpler of the two efforts, since a lesser number of removable components are at hand, i.e., tobacco, cigarette paper wrap and, in some instances, filter plugs and filter wrap. The recovery effort involving packaged cigarettes is complicated particularly by the presence of so-called zip-tape, which is the tearable portion of the individual package plastic overwrap, separated from the overwrap on opening the pack by a user. As in such opening, the zip-tape separates from the remnant overwrap in reclaiming on carton and pack ripping, and exhibits the same generally recognized self-sustaining open rectangular configuration. By this configuration characteristic and its relative smallness, the tape eludes customary tight mesh screening efforts, such as involve screens of type shown in applicant's copending, common-assigned patent application Ser. No. 953,859, filed Oct. 23, 1978, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Separating Tobacco from Rejected Cigarettes", which discloses apparatus and system directed to the first-mentioned recovery effort.
By way of further background of the invention, attention is invited to the prior art statement filed herein pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 1.197 and 1.198.